Secondary Navigation

Primary Navigation

Solid Southern-Style Brunch at Mamie Taylor’s (Vancouver, B.C.)

<>Mamie Taylors is one of those hipster-like restaurants (like the ones I’ve seen in Brooklyn, NY) that has the rustic, exposed brick and wood beamed decor with lots of taxidermy (as I’ve learned, it’s donated from locals) that is an 85-seat American restaurant specializing in Southern comfort food with a contemporary twist.

This restaurant is the vanguard to the Chinatown neighborhood in Vancouver. The Chinatown there is sort of a shadow of itself since most of the Chinese community has migrated south to Richmond. The relaxed and casual ambiance of exposed brick walls and kitsch play into the up-and-coming neighborhood.

We came to Mamie’s for their brunch since we’ve heard good things about their brunch. Yes, even coming from New York City, I have my moments of craving Southern comfort food (and we do have decently good Southern food there). We started off with our cups of delicious coffee and tea (we opted out from cocktails since we had too many drinks the night before).

My carnivorous friend ordered the steak and grits. The tender, medium-rare steak sliced and sitting on a bed of cheesy, cheddar grits topped with charred scallions and housemade steak sauce were delicious. The grilled scallions added that onion-like flavor to make it more than a standard steak and grits flavor.

The chili braised pork shoulder is like an over-the-top eggs benedict. The mildly spicy chili has a great depth of flavor and the braised pork was fork-tender good. The poached eggs and hollandaise sauce are the eggs benedict portion and it definitely added the unctuousness to the whole dish. The cornbread on the side was very good; not too sweet and toasted nicely for some texture.

Of the three dishes, the best dish for us is fried chicken and waffles. The crisp-edged, fluffy, not too sweet waffles meets the crispy, savory and moist chicken meat. The bourbon honey and pickled jalapenos were a nice twist to the standard chicken and waffles. I prefer to add a couple of dashes of hot sauce to this dish to add some spiciness and acidity.

The service was sincere and friendly. The food was hearty and tasty with the American Southern inflected fare. The decor feels kitschy with the many taxidermy but at the same time feels comfortable and cozy like you are in a cabin up in the woods somewhere. I would definitely come back for brunch or dinner (with a drink) when I come back to Vancouver.

To view more photos of this visit, please view the photo set or the gallery below: